---
title: "Windsurf"
description: "Configure Windsurf to use Jira MCP"
icon: "water"
---

Set up Jira MCP in Windsurf to manage Jira tickets directly from your IDE using natural language with Cascade AI.

## Prerequisites

- Windsurf editor installed
- Jira MCP installed (see [Quickstart](/quickstart))
- jira-cli configured and authenticated

## Configuration

<Steps>
<Step title="Open MCP settings">

In Windsurf, go to **Settings > MCP** or open the command palette and search for "MCP".

</Step>

<Step title="Add Jira MCP server">

Add the following configuration to your MCP servers:

<Tabs>
<Tab title="Binary installation">

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "/usr/local/bin/jira-mcp",
      "env": {
        "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token",
        "JIRA_AUTH_TYPE": "basic"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

<Note>
Replace `/usr/local/bin/jira-mcp` with the actual path to your jira-mcp binary.
</Note>

</Tab>

<Tab title="Development setup (uv)">

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/jira-mcp", "run", "python", "-m", "src.main"],
      "env": {
        "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token",
        "JIRA_AUTH_TYPE": "basic"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

<Note>
Replace `/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/jira-mcp` with the actual path to your cloned repository.
</Note>

</Tab>
</Tabs>

</Step>

<Step title="Restart Windsurf">

Restart Windsurf or reload the window to apply the changes.

</Step>
</Steps>

## Usage examples

Once configured, you can interact with Jira using natural language in Windsurf's Cascade AI:

- "Show me my assigned tickets"
- "Create a bug ticket for the login page issue"
- "Move PROJ-123 to In Progress"
- "Add a comment to PROJ-456 explaining the fix"
- "What tickets are in the current sprint?"

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="MCP server not connecting">

1. Verify the path to your jira-mcp binary is correct.
2. Make sure jira-cli is properly configured by running `jira issue list` in your terminal.
3. Check Windsurf's MCP logs for error messages.

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Authentication errors">

Ensure your Jira credentials are set in the MCP configuration's `env` field:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jira": {
      "command": "/usr/local/bin/jira-mcp",
      "env": {
        "JIRA_API_TOKEN": "your-api-token",
        "JIRA_AUTH_TYPE": "basic"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

<Note>
GUI applications like Windsurf do not inherit shell environment variables from `.bashrc` or `.zshrc`. Using the `env` field in the MCP configuration is the recommended approach.
</Note>

</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
